Maritime development for the Artic Region

On Monday, October 26, Russian President Vladimir Putin approved the Strategy for the Development of the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation which calls for the construction of 400.000 tons of shipping in the coming years. [1] Central in this document is the construction of several icebreakers and rescue vessels as well as laying a transarctic optic fiber cable on the ocean floor. These plans form a basis for the maritime development of the Artic Region which is believed to be rich in energy and mineral supplies that could become accessible due to global warming.

Strengthening maritime trade

Central in the document is the construction of additional shipping tonnage to be used in the Artic Region. This plan involved the construction of at least five icebreakers of Project 22220 and three icebreakers of Project 10510, also known as Leader class. Sixteen additional rescue vessels are to be constructed to supplement the fleet.

Artika - lead vessel of Project 22220 and named after her predecessor class of icebreakers

Icebreakers play an important role in the Artic as they increase the passage of cargo vessels in the Artic Region by keeping the Northern Sea Route open for a much longer period. Without icebreakers, maritime transport along the Northern Sea Route is restricted to the summer months when the polar ice recedes. Large icebreakers allow for maritime transport to start earlier and last longer then under natural conditions by temporarily breaking open shipping lanes. An icebreaker usually runs point, opening a passage way, followed by a small number of cargo ships before the waters starts to freeze back into an ice.

Project 22220 is a nuclear powered icebreaker which is meant to replace the older Artika class nuclear powered icebreakers. Project 22220 is able to break ice with a thickness of 2.8 meters [2], compared to the 2.3 meters of the Artika class. [3] As such, the Project 22220 icebreakers can start escorting ships earlier then the Artika class could and operate longer during the autumn and winter months. Project 10510 Leader class, is a further improvement which is capable of breaking ice as thick as 3.5 meters. [4]
Not only the thickness of the ice they can break is important, the beam of the icebreaker plays a role as well. The wider the icebreaker, the wider the channel it can creates which determines the size of the cargo ship that can pass through. 

Keeping the Northern Sea route open for much longer then currently is possible is one part of the economic development of the Artic Region. The Northern Sea Route allows for faster travel between European and Asian markets compared to the Suez Canal-Indian Ocean route, allowing shipping companies to make a larger profit as costs decrease. By taxing the passage along the Northern Sea Route, especially when Russian icebreakers keep the route open, Russia could have another source of revenue.



President Putin himself announced in 2019 that the goal is to have 80 million tons of goods being transported along the Northern Sea route by 2024. In 2019, the maritime volume was only 31.5 million tons and according to the Russian Association of Sea Trade Ports, sea route developers have guarantees for no more than 52 million tons of shipments by 2024. [5]

More larger icebreakers are thus necessary to increase the volume of maritime shipping in the Artic Region. Not only can Project 22220 and 10510 operate longer then the Artika class could, their wider beams also allow for the passage of larger merchant vessels, thereby further increasing the maritime volume that can pass.

Improved communications

A second part of the document focusses on the construction of an optic-fiber cable on the seabed in order to create better communications between the currently isolated ports and settlements in the Artic Region. Not only allow fiber-optic cables for the faster transmission of data, they are also more reliable compared to radio communications. The polar regions are known for their atmospheric interferences which could hamper radio communications. Setting up a vast logistical network to supply the isolated settlements and coordinate rescue operations, requires stable and reliable communications. Laying an optic-fiber cable along the Northern Sea Route and have if connect to the isolated ports and settlement aims to achieve this stable communication.

Conclusion

Russia continues to develop its presence and dominance in the Artic Region. Over the past years, this dominance was focused on military deployments but recently there has been a shift towards economic dominance in the Artic Region by developing the Northern Sea Route.
The construction of more and larger icebreakers are Russia's answer to increase the volume of maritime trade that pass through the Northern Sea Route which in turn can be taxed and turned into a source of revenue for the Russian State. Supporting this maritime development is the need for faster and more reliable means of communications between the isolated towns and settlements. An optic-fiber cable should provide for this better communication.

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